This invention relates to shovels and, more particularly, to a shovel having a tiered blade which can easily and accurately penetrate soil in a uniform manner.
A variety of devices are presented in the prior art for penetrating and moving soil. Although assumably effective in operation, these devices do not eliminate two common difficulties. Specifically, it is often difficult to penetrate hardened or rocky soil using traditional shovel devices. A conventional rounded shovel blade often meets great resistance when pushed against hardened soil. A related difficulty is regulating the depth and/or width to which a traditional shovel blade is inserted into hardened soil. Penetration to a particular depth and/or width is desirable so as to create a particularly sized hole for planting plants or the like. While a thin blade characteristic of a spade may be useful to penetrate hardened soil, such a blade does not accommodate depth and/or width regulation and does not allow for moving any substantial quantity of soil.
It is therefore desirable to have a shovel that is configured such that initial penetration of hardened or rocky soil is simplified. It is further desirable to have a shovel with a blade that can be more accurately and/or uniformly inserted to various user-selectable depths within the ground.